Ramesses II

Ramesses II (1303 BC-1213 BC), also known as Ramesses the Great or Ozymandias, was Pharaoh of Egypt from 1279 to 1213 BC, succeeding Seti I and preceding Merneptah. He was often regarded as the greatest pharaoh of New Kingdom Egypt, reasserting Egyptian control over Canaan and campaigning in Nubia and Syria.

Biography
Ramesses was born in 1303 BC, the son of Seti I and Tuya. Some Biblical scholars identify Ramesses as the Pharaoh of the Book of Exodus; according to this narrative, Moses was the adoptive brother of Ramesses. Moses and Ramesses were rivals, as Moses became Pharaoh Seti's preferred son due to a successful military campaign against Kush in Ethiopia (bringing back vast amounts of treasure and tribute for Seti) and his successful building a city and obelisk in honor of Seti's upcoming jubilee. Ramesses was also jealous about Nefertari's affection for Moses, and he sought to steal Nefertari for himself.

Ramesses had the opportunity to rid himself of his rival after his spy among the Hebrew slaves, Dathan, witnessed Moses' murder of the slave overseer Baka and overheard his confession to Joshua that he was, in reality, the son of the Hebrew slaves Amram and Jochebed. Ramesses had Moses brought to Seti as a captive, and Moses confessed that he was really the son of Hebrew slaves, while he denied that he was the promised "Deliverer" who would lead the Jews to freedom in the land of Israel.

During Moses' 40-year exile, Ramesses succeeded his father as Pharaoh, acceding to the throne in 1279 BC. He also married Nefertari, another act of vengeance against Moses. Ramesses led several military campaigns to reconquer lands lost to the Hittite Empire in the north and the Nubians in the south, defeating the Hittites at the Battle of Kadesh in 1274 BC and forcing them to agree to a peace treaty. His army grew to a strength of 100,000 men, and he also battled against Sardinian pirates, the Canaanite princes, the tribes of the Negev desert and Syria, the Nubians in the Sudan, and the Libyans.

Moses returned forty years after leaving for the desert, coming before Ramesses to win the Hebrew slaves' freedom. He turned Ramesses' staff into a cobra to prove that God was on his side, but Ramesses responded by refusing to allow for the Hebrews to be provided with straw for their bricks. Soon after, Egypt was visited by plagues, and Moses turned the Nile to blood at a festival of Khnum and rained burning hail upon Ramesses' palace. Moses then warned Ramesses that he would cause the next plague; when Ramesses ordered the execution of all of the first-born Hebrews, a new plague killed all of Egypt's first-born children. Ramesses responded by exiling the Hebrews, pursuing them to the Red Sea with his army. Moses used God's help to halt the Egyptians with a pillar of fire, and he then parted the sea so that the Hebrews could cross to the Levant. When the Egyptian army began to march through the sea, Moses released the waters, drowning Ramesses' army. A devastated Ramesses returned empty-handed to Nefertari, acknowledging Moses' god as God. Ramesses died a wealthy man in 1213 BC at the age of 90.